Currently, less than 1% of the plastic bags distributed are reused or recycled and there are over 90,000 bags distributed each week in our community alone.

Using paper bags instead of plastic bags is not a better choice. Yes, paper does degrade quicker in the environment if littered but it takes more energy and resources to produce them. Approximately 14 million trees are cut down every year for paper bag production.

To contain pet waste, you can use bread bags, newspaper bags or vegetables bags.

Approximately 380 billion plastic bags are used in the United States every year using 12 million barrels of oil. That’s more than 1,200 bags per US resident, per year.

Using reusable bags is the best solution. Place bags near your wallet or door leading to your car or bike to remind you to take them.Paper production requires hundreds of thousands of gallons of water as well as toxic chemicals like sulfurous acid, which can lead to acid rain and water pollution.

An article, posted by Ocean Crusaders, OceanCrusaders.org , explains the magnitude of plastic bags in our oceans:..."Our world uses somewhere between 500 billion and 1 trillion plastic bags every single year. They are big numbers but let's put those numbers into perspective. We see these numbers and we go, O.K that's big but have you ever tried to count to 1 million, let alone 1 billion or 1 trillion. To count straight through from 1 to 1,000,000 will take you 11 days. Yep, that's right 11 days. Try 32 years to count to 1 billion. You cannot count to 1 trillion in your lifetime....To read this entire publication from Ocean Crusaders, click here...

Approx. 380 billion plastic bags are used in the United States every year. That’s more than 1,200 bags per US resident, per year.

An estimated 12 million barrels of oil is required to make that many plastic bags.

Only 1 to 2% of plastic bags in the USA end up getting recycled.

Thousands of marine animals and more than 1 million birds die each year as a result of plastic pollution.

The United Nations Environment Programme estimates that there are 46,000 pieces of plastic litter floating in every square mile of ocean.

Plastic bags are often mistakenly ingested by animals, clogging their intestines which results in death by starvation. Other animals or birds become entangled in plastic bags and drown or can’t fly as a result.

Even when they photo-degrade in the landfill, the plastic from single-use bags never goes away, and toxic particles can enter the food chain when they are ingested by unsuspecting animals.

Americans consume more than 10 billion paper bags per year. Approximately 14 million trees are cut down every year for paper bag production.

Paper production requires hundreds of thousands of gallons of water as well as toxic chemicals like sulphurous acid, which can lead to acid rain and water pollution.